International
The sale of hijabs skyrockets in Iran due to the fear of the ‘Police of morality’
The veil seller Mahshid is doing well. The sale of hijabs has skyrocketed in his store in northern Tehran since the return to the streets of the ‘Police of Morals’ to reimpose the use of Islamic clothing, a situation that other businesses in the sector are also experiencing.
Numerous women look and touch veils, ask for prices and several wear clothes at the Mahshid store located in Tajrish Square, a business that sank after the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 after being arrested for not wearing the hijab well.
“Many women stopped shopping and wearing the veil then. Sales were reduced to less than half,” he tells EFE Mahshid, who at 34 years old has had covered hair and has been selling hijabs for a decade.
“But with the return of the ‘Police of Morals’ to the streets, sales have recovered,” says this merchant who sells veils from 1,350,000 rials (2.5 euros) and has them in all colors and prints.
Sales have not fully recovered and Mahshid now dispatches 75% of what he sold before the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish girl, which provoked unprecedented protests against the Islamic Republic in which 500 protesters died in state violence.
After Amini’s death, many Iranians stopped wearing the Islamic veil as a gesture of social disobedience to a political system that they consider oppressive and discriminatory, especially against women.
To reimpose the use of the veil, the Iranian authorities launched a campaign of massive repression with the confiscation of vehicles, prison sentences and even lashes, Amnesty International denounced.
In vain. Many Iranians have continued without covering their hair and that is why in mid-April the authorities deployed the ‘Moral Police’ back on the streets of the country and since then arrests women who do not wear a veil, a mandatory garment in the country since 1983.
Afshin, a veil seller in a shopping center in northern Tehran, has also seen a significant increase in sales and believes that it is because of the fear of the dreaded police vans in which they put women sometimes forcibly discovered.
“Sales have improved in the last three months and I think it is due to the fear that many women feel about the violent arrests of girls who do not wear the veil,” this 36-year-old Iranian tells EFE.
Afshin sold 50 veils on weekdays and about 100 on holidays until Amini’s death in September 2022, after which sales fell to about 50 pieces per week.
“Now he has recovered a little. It’s not like three years ago, but we sell about 30 veils a day,” he explains.
One of the women who stopped wearing a veil in 2022 and has now covered her hair again is Melika, a 39-year-old housewife from Tehran.
“I stopped using the hijab as a form of solidarity with the young women who have paid very dearly for the fact of removing the veil,” he tells EFE.
“But after seeing the violent arrests of girls in the streets with the return of the police of morale, I began to use it in places where I know there are police vans,” he continues.
After two years without buying a veil, Melika bought one a few days ago: “It makes me feel bad to spend the money on something I don’t like and that they are forcibly imposing on me.”
Iran is now waiting for President-elect Masud Pezeshkian to take office at the end of the month and one of the great doubts is whether he will relax the veil policy, as he hinted in the electoral campaign.
“I don’t think he will, he has no power to do it,” a newly licensed psychologist tells EFE who doubts that the new reformist president will bring changes, a widespread opinion among young Iranians.
If so, the veil seller Mahshid will continue to do well.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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